US Forces Afghanistan honors Afghan women on Women's Equality Day

Photo By Catherine Hartman | Sediqa Nuristani (left) joins Lt. Col. Shavoka Douglas (right) as a special guest on Women's Equality Day.  

BAGRAM, AFGHANISTAN

08.26.2014

Courtesy Story

U.S. Forces Afghanistan

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - U.S. Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) celebrated Women’s Equality Day with a simple but significant ceremony at Bagram Air Base, Aug. 26. This American holiday honors the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote. There is a special relevancy to this year’s celebration as an estimated 5 million Afghan women defied Taliban threats and went to the polls to vote in the recent Afghan elections.

One of these courageous women, Ms. Sediqa Nuristani was a special guest at the event. Ms. Nuristani represents the progress Afghan women have made in the last 13 years after being liberated from Taliban oppression.

A student of higher education at Kateb University, she has benefited from being one of an estimated 4 million girls and women who are currently attending school in Afghanistan. Nuristani is studying political science and hopes to help lead her country into a better future. She worked in the elections process as a gender manager, traveling to villages and conducting seminars to empower and encourage women to vote. These women, along with women of the Afghan National Security Forces who secured the polls for women, enabled women to participate in the vote.

The fact that women currently hold 28 percent of the seats in the Afghan parliament, a woman ran as a vice presidential candidate, and many of the candidate’s wives gave campaign speeches, serve as clear indicators of the progress Afghan women have experienced in the last 13 years.

“This was unheard of a decade ago and has been accomplished through the dedication and resolve of the Afghan women. Women who were banned from attending schools are now teachers, women who were not permitted healthcare are now doctors,” said Lt. Col. Shavoka Douglas, USFOR-A Equal Opportunity director.

There are women athletes- a football team and a cricket team, a women’s boxing federation and on the streets of Kabul you can see women riding bicycles. Women are farmers, bee keepers, taxi drivers, journalists, artists and are represented in the security forces as police chiefs and pilots. They are entrepreneurs with an estimate of over 3,000 women-owned businesses.

“These are substantial achievements and the Afghan women are committed to sustain and defend their rights at any cost,” said Nuristani.

Unfortunately many women still remain oppressed, particularly in the rural areas. Afghan women face obstacles and grave threats as they struggle for continued progress toward equality.

Nuristani is the first women to climb Afghanistan’s highest peak and has founded the Afghan Mountaineering Federation. As Vice President of the National Olympic Committee, she follows in the footsteps of her father, who was an Olympic coach and trainer. She receives many threats against herself and her family.

“Afghan women have many challenges ahead and they have a long road to run,” said a resilient Nuristani.

USFOR-A’s celebration of Women’s Equality Day honored courageous women like Nuristani, who are an inspiration to many people around the globe.

The U.S. is committed to an enduring partnership with the Afghans and continues to support equality and human rights for Afghan women.

• Date Taken: 08.26.2014
• Date Posted: 08.28.2014 10:55
• Story ID: 140667
• Location: BAGRAM, AF